The rupee drifted lower on the money market on Monday in the process of trading, dealer said. The rupee, after maintaining a firm trend for a long time against the dollar, lost nine paisas for buying and selling at Rs 104.75 and Rs 104.76 respectively, dealer said.
In the first Asian trade, the yen reversed course and eased versus the dollar, after rising initially as disappointing economic news out of China shored up demandd for the safe-haven currency Chinese investment, factory output and retail sales all missed forecasts, adding to doubts about whether the economy is stabilising.
The dollar initially fell versus the yen in early Asia trade. It touched a low of 108.46 yen, retreating from two-week highs of 109.57 set on Friday, when the dollar gained a lift from upbeat US data. The dollar later recovered its losses and last stood at 108.90 yen, up 0.2 percent on the day.
The yen came off its earlier highs as Tokyo shares drew strength from strong US data on Friday that helped offset worries over softness in Chinese economic indicators. The dollar was trading against the Indian rupee at Rs 66.84, the US currency was available at 4.0310 in terms of the Malaysian ringgit and the greenback was at 6.5270 in relation to the Chinese yuan. Inter bank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Monday: 78.40-78.40 (previous 78.40-78.40).
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Open Bid Rs.104.80
Open Offer Rs.105.00
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Bid Rate Rs.104.75
Offer Rate Rs.104.76
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According to the currency dealers, the dollar resumed trading at its Saturday's closing of Rs 105.25 and Rs 105.40 as its buying and selling rates, respectively. Because of selling pressure, the dollar's rate declined to Rs 105.20 on buying counter while its selling rate remained unchanged at Rs 105.40, the dealers said.
On the other hand, the local currency stayed strong and registered gain against the British pound. The pound's buying and selling rates declined from the previous closing of Rs 150.60 and Rs 151.30 to Rs 150.00 and 151.00, respectively, they added.
The dollar opened at Rs 106 (buying) and Rs 106.20 (selling) against same last rate. It did not observe further change in the second session and closed at Rs 106 (buying) and Rs 106.20 (selling).
Pound Sterling opened at Rs 158 (buying) and Rs 158.50 (selling) against same overnight value. It did not observe further change in the evening session and closed at Rs 158 (buying) and Rs 158.50 (selling).